E/HLPF/2021/3/Add.3 Economic and Social Council
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United Nations E/HLPF/2021/3/Add.3 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 23 April 2021 Original: English High-level political forum on sustainable development Convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council 6–15 July 2021 Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development Input from the fifth session of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the Economic Commission for Europe Region Note by the Secretariat The Secretariat hereby transmits the input from the fifth session of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the Economic Commission for Europe Region, held in Geneva on 17 and 18 March 2021, to the high-level political forum on sustainable development. 21-05440 (E) 060521 *2105440* E/HLPF/2021/3/Add.3 Report of the fifth session of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the Economic Commission for Europe Region I. Attendance 1. The fifth session of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Region was held as a hybrid meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, on 17 and 18 March 2021. The session was co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, Francisco André, and the State Counsellor to the Prime Minister of Romania, László Borbély. 2. The session was attended by representatives of the following 52 ECE member States: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Uzbekistan. 3. The following non-member States of ECE attended: Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Africa and Togo. 4. The European Union was represented by the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. The European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Training Foundation, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Union’s Urban Development Network Programme also participated. 5. Representatives of the following United Nations bodies, departments, funds and programmes, specialized agencies, related organizations, conventions and initiatives attended the meeting: secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, International Telecommunication Union, International Trade Centre, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Regional Commissions New York Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, Development Coordination Office, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Economic and Social Council, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Headquarters, United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2/24 21-05440 E/HLPF/2021/3/Add.3 United Nations Office for Project Services, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, United Nations System Staff College, World Tourism Organization, World Health Organization (WHO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Trade Organization. Resident coordinators and representatives of resident coordinator offices from eight programme countries in the region also attended. 6. Representatives of the following intergovernmental and other international organizations and networks participated in the session: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Programme, Central European Initiative, Commonwealth, Council of Europe, Council of Europe Development Bank, Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for South-Eastern Europe, Eurasian Development Bank, Eurasian Economic Commission, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, European Space Agency, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Nordic Council of Ministers, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Regional Cooperation Council and South Centre. 7. Representatives of about 200 non-governmental organizations as well as representatives of academia, the private sector, national human rights institutions and other organizations also participated. A complete list of participants can be found on the website of the Regional Forum (https://regionalforum.unece.org). II. Opening and adoption of the agenda 8. The Regional Forum adopted the provisional agenda for the session, contained in document ECE/RFSD/2021/1. 9. In his opening remarks, the Co-Chair (Portugal) emphasized that the past year had been clouded by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. The pandemic has slowed, halted or reversed progress towards sustainable development. The current challenge is to find ways to tackle the severe health and socioeconomic crisis without compromising on the transformative approach enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Portugal, COVID-19 has disrupted health care and other social and economic systems, affecting progress towards most, if not all, of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the crisis caused by the pandemic should not be an excuse to interrupt the implementation of policies, but rather an opportunity to reaffirm commitments, including towards the Goals. During its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Portugal would set more ambitious objectives for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by the Union and prioritize digitalization and the sustainable management of natural resources. 10. In his opening remarks, the other Co-Chair (Romania) stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic had proved to be an intractable challenge. The pandemic has had numerous devastating consequences for countries in the region and worldwide. It has also directly affected peoples’ health and lives. Vulnerable groups have become at an even greater risk of marginalization than before the pandemic. Jobs, transboundary value chains and economic sectors such as tourism have been suffering. Social protection, health and food systems have been under heavy strain. The key question is how the region will bounce back from the crisis, while taking environmental and climate change considerations fully into account. The pandemic 21-05440 3/24 E/HLPF/2021/3/Add.3 has also brought challenges to the surface in Romania. The country is seizing opportunities to achieve sustainability through its national recovery and resilience plan, which incorporates the Sustainable Development Goals. At the international level, recovery from the pandemic requires the strengthening of multilateral cooperation and partnerships within the Economic Commission for Europe Region. 11. The President of the Economic and Social Council underscored in his video message that the common goals in the ECE Region, as in other regions, were to recover from the health, economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to continue to work towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and climate goals. Programmes in aid of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis must address cross-cutting issues relating to gender equality and ensure that no one was left behind. He stressed that inequities in gaining access to COVID-19 vaccines could erode international cooperation, which was essential to recovery